Tag Archives: Timor Leste Dental Program

GO BIG OR GO HOME

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After the administrative frustrations experienced by Team 1 and the continuing logistical uncertainties that the TLDP is navigating, Team 2 faced our second post-Covid trip to TL with not a small amount of trepidation. Nevertheless, off they went to Dili, buoyed by an ocean of phone calls, emails, messages and video conferences via Whatsapp and Messenger. 

The Australian contingent of Team 2 comprised Team Leader, Dr David Digges, Dr Henry Gilkes and Dr William Hariman. As is quickly becoming a trend for 2022, Day 1 was taken up by meetings.  

First, the team met with Dr Sanjay Mathew, who heads the oral health program for Maluk Timor, another NGO with which the TLDP collaborates. There was a lively discussion about the issues facing dental care in TL. 

This was followed by another meeting with the Big Bosses at the Carmelite HQ in Fatuhada. The aim was to discuss the program’s challenges and to agree upon future directions. However, the meeting also came with a lovely surprise for the team; Sr Inacia and Sr Santina were accompanied by one of the TLDP’s founders, our beloved Sr Filomena, who is now in charge of the running of Fatuhada. After so many years, they were thrilled to be reunited with our dynamic friend. 

Sr Filomena, Sr Santina, Dr David, Dr William, Ana Tilman, Sr Inacia

Administrative tasks complete, the team then collected Ana Tilman and Ana Martins, did the shopping, and headed to Maubara, where they had another joyful reunion – this time with Sr Fabiola, the former ‘Big Boss’ of the Carmelites in TL.  She is now a member of their World Leadership Council, based in Spain. Anyone involved in our program over the years would remember her dynamic spirit and her supportive, can-do attitude, especially when it came to the TLDP.

Sr Fabiola and Dr David meet again!

By Day 2 – Sunday – the team was all together – the Timorese contingent comprised our full-time dental therapists, Nico Pires and Ana Tilman, as well as newbie, Ana Martins, who graduated as a dental therapist from Kupang last year. The team packed up and set off for Maliana near the West Timor border. They stopped for lunch in Balibo; a town that achieved notoriety after five Australian journalists were murdered by Indonesian troops during the Indonesian invasion in 1975. 

Nico Pires, Dr William, Ana Martins, Ana Tilman and Dr David – tourists in Balibo

On arrival in Maliana, the team was met by Noemia Pereira Noronha, aka Mia, the younger sister of our much-loved Isa. Like her sister, she has exceptional translating and organising skills and made the team’s lives substantially easier. For the 3 days the team spent in Maliana, they were accommodated in the Seminary – the food was good and excellent lighting for Dr. Henry’s nightly tutorials for the crew, which covered everything from how to give injections to dental emergencies.

Nightly tutorials with Dr Henry

The team worked out of Maliana hospital for 2 days and were extremely busy seeing the community. They happily shared some preventive dental knowledge with the hospital doctors and also provided much-needed clinical supervision and support for the newly graduated local Timorese dentists, Drs Nelia and Maria. They then spent a day working in the nearby village of Cailaco – they found it was faster to follow the riverbed than to use the roads – it still took them over 2 hours to get there!

Dr William wth new graduate, Dr Maria

On Thursday the team headed slowly over the mountains up to Bobonaro where they worked in the Sister’s Clinic over the next 3 days. There were some concerns about the possible lack of patients due to the visit landing squarely in school holidays. They needn’t have worried; there were plenty of patients and the team’s young crew thrived and developed well during these few days. As always, the sisters spoiled them with excellent food and lively company. 

Joy personified – AT, Dr Wiliam and Mia

On Sunday, the team farewelled Mia in Maliana – she was needed back at her mother’s restaurant. She was such a great addition to the team – she was sorely missed during the seond week. Dr William also headed back to Dili to catch a flight to Sydney the next day. Feeling short-staffed, the rest of the team dropped the gear in Loes on the way back home to Maubara.

During the second week, the team spent the first 3 days in Loes where they worked in an outdoor village clinic in very hot conditions. Loes is located inland at sea-level, so it doesn’t seem to get any sea breezes and hasn’t got any of the advantages of elevation. They treated children from a local orphanage, as well as the general community, which included members of water police force, who we have never come across before.

Al fresco in Loes – Dr Henry supervising Ana Martins

Although Tuesday was a public holiday in TL (Independence Day), there was no rest for this Aussie-based team, who worked through to 4pm before taking a late lunch at the Lauhata Beach Resort. This proved to be serendipitous for the team because they then had the extraordinary privilege of meeting the President of Timor-Leste, Dr. Hose Ramos Horta! It was a great joy for both Ana’s not only to meet their President, but to also be allowed to have a photo with him. Dr Henry and Dr David took the opportunity to speak to him about the TLDP, and he expressed his thanks for our efforts and stressed the need for us to continue our program. He even suggested that if we continued having difficulties, he could make available space in the Presidential Palace! 

AT and AM with the President

The following 2 days were spent in the TLDP base clinic in Maubara in sweltering heat. The effects of the pandemic were very much evident with more patients than ever before, queuing for hours to be seen. The Sisters were thrilled to see Ana Martins working with the team. Ana grew up in the Carmelite sisters’ orphanage in Maubara, and so she occupies a special place in their hearts. The pandemonium at the clinic increased even more when the other children from the orphanage arrived for their checkups! The team’s highlight that week was dinner with the kids at the orphanage – despite having taken out some of the kids’ teeth that day, they were still greeted with smiles.

Queues at Maubara

The last 2 days were spent in Railaco with the Jesuit mission, which functions like a well-oiled machine. After a spectacular drive up into the mountains, the rapidly tiring team were greeted with beers. The indefatigable Father Bong always knows how to make our job easier, and any team hosted by him can expect seamless support. The team was very happy to follow up Team 1’s trip, to continue working their way through the very large Covid backlog, before heading back to Maubara and then home.

This was a mammoth trip for Team 2, even by their own standards. It was longer than normal, and busier than normal, which in the heat is even more difficult physically and mentally. In total, Team 2 carried out 754 check-ups, extracted 528 teeth, placed 193 fillings, and did 240 preventive treatments. It was an enormous effort all round. Well done! 

Nico and Ana giving oral hygiene instruction to school kids

TWO’S COMPANY, NINE’S A PARTY – LAST TEAM FOR 2019

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The TLDP’s volunteering year has come to an end after Team 5’s return last week. The team was big even by TLDP standards.  The Australian contingent  consisted of Team Leader, Dr Blanche Tsetong, returnee Dr Mary Tuituinnik and newbies, Dr Kim Hartley and Dr Lesley Leong, with Mr Keith Mentiplay arriving for Week 2. The Timorese division comprised the usual suspects  – Mr Nico Pires, Ms  Ana Tilman and Ms Ana Paula  Salgado – with the addition of Mr Tino Morais for Week 2 –  plus Dr Inda Dias rocked up for a couple of days during the first week and Mr Savio Moreira snuck in for a day and a bit . The ring-ins come to learn – we welcome all-comers!

The main team
The core crew – Ana Paula, Leslie, Kim, Blanche, Ana Tilman, Mary and Nico

Week 1 was spent in the Maubisse Subdistrict. After the quickest trip to Maubisse EVER – 2.5 hrs up the new, yet still unsealed road, the team was delighted to find that they could stay with the Carmelite community. In the preceding couple of years, our longtime partners had increasing difficulties fitting a team into their accommodation, and so TLDP teams were forced to try their luck elsewhere, with variable results. This time, the team arrived to a newly constructed building, which even had hot running water at times! As usual, it was an absolute delight to take their meals with the Sisters and the team was thoroughly spoiled with big breakfasts, feasts for lunch, scrumptious afternoon teas and multi-course dinners.

The View from Gruto School
The View from Gruto School

The team spent their first 2 days at Gruto School, which is down a steep, rough, dirt road. The views were fabulous. On the second day, as it was just down the hill from Gruto, Blanche, Ana Paula and Ana Tilman went down to see if there were any kids that had pain and wanted treatment. At first it seemed like it was going to be a bust – although plenty of kids dobbed in their mates,  there were no volunteers. It just needed one brave child to break the ice…and then there was a full car!

The next 2 days were spent at Fleixa School, another school with a spectacular view, but with no electricity or running water. This was a large school on the main road to Same, and the team was flat out trying to get through all the kids, as well as see some of the adult members of the community. The difference between the more remote Gruto and Samoro,  and Fleixa was stark – Fleixa’s kids had much more decay than the other two schools, probably because of easier access to junk food.

Day 2 in Fleixa fairly flew by, and  it seemed like the team was going to finish work at a reasonable hour for a change. All the equipment was working, the sterilisation was finished and they were starting to pack up. Then Inda let in a ‘last-minute-easy-patient’. It took the combined efforts of one dental therapist and 3 dentists, plus an extra hour to extract  that ‘easy’ wisdom tooth!

Our senior dental therapist, Nico, is a quiet achiever. After 3 years of mentoring, his skills are formidable.

After an abortive attempt to work at the not-famous-Balibo School, the team’s final day in Maubisse was spent in the Sisters’ Clinic. Despite letters and multiple phone calls to the Principal, the team arrived after a gnarly drive up a goat track to find another spectacular view…. and the school deserted. At least the drive was interesting! The roads in the subdistricts are challenging and Leslie found this out on the job. In Sisters’ car,  he had a near miss with a horse, got stuck in a rut on the steep track out of Gruto and fell into another ditch on the drive down from Balibo. It’s a good thing that he is blessed with unshakable aplomb!

Blanche and Nico fixing suction
Fixing the suction unit

The suction broke down on Day 1, necessitating hours of repair work; mysterious water leaks sprung from the dental units that were ‘fixed’ with gaffa tape and plastic cups; and there was a bunch of other niggly faults in the equipment that had plagued everyone for the whole year. Like all the teams before them, Team 5 treated this as par for the course, all the while counting down the days and hours to when our equipment guru, Keith Mentiplay, would arrive and make it all better. What made these little annoyances easier to bear was the team had managed to borrow 2 extra dental chairs from Solar Smiles while they were in Maubisse, and so the work still flew. Having 5 purpose-built chairs going at once made it easier to mentor clinicians without significantly slowing down the pace at which they saw patients. It was great! Thanks Solar Smiles!

It’s always a blast with the Sisters

The team left their beer in Maubisse. DISASTER. Luckily, this was mitigated by the arrival of two old friends – miracle-working equipment-whisperer, Keith, and long-time mentee, Tino – so Week 2 was off to a great start! Although the entire team stayed at Maubara this week there were so many people that they had to split into 2 locations to sleep. Dinners were raucous feasts with the Sisters at the Orphanage, which kept everyone super happy.

The second week was characterised by long commutes, dust-choked air and crowded cars.  The TLDP’s School Dental Program includes 17 schools. Some of these are impossible for Nico and Ana Tilman to get to by motorbike – they are too far away and the roads are too rough – so a team is needed to help them out.

The crazy kids in Faulara

The team spent the first 2 days at Faulara, which is on the farthest edge of Maubara subdistrict. The drive took 1.5-2 hours each way and resulted in some extremely long days. There were lots of waterway crossings, and then a drive UP a waterway to the school. The first return trip shredded one of the tyres on our precious Troopie.

Beers and tyres

Keith the equipment whisperer
Keith the equipment whisperer and his newest acolyte

The teeth in Faulara were not too bad – again, probably due to the remote nature of the village. And there was electricity! Over those 2 days, the team managed to check all the kids, Ana Tilman performing  her by-now-familiar toothbrushing pitch to all the classes, and everybody pitched in with treatment and mentoring. And in the meantime, Keith fixed and tested everything! The team was now working like a well-oiled machine, so they managed to finish early at Faulara, break down the clinic, and drive to nearby-ish Guiçu School to set up the clinic for the next day.

 

Keith and Tino on a road trip
Keith and Tino on a road trip

It was a huge relief to the team that Guiçu is closer to Maubara – only 1 hour each way on bad roads for the next 2 days! While most of the team was tasked to see the school under Mary’s watchful eye, Blanche and Keith were absent for most of the next 2 days. Blanche headed into Dili for meetings (and to buy tyres). Keith accompanied a grateful Tino on a 4-hour return motorbike adventure to Gleno Hospital in order to check out Tino’s non-functioning chair. He was able to get the  drills, light and triplex working, but was unable to get the chair moving again – luckily, it is stuck in a good position! Keith also serviced all the equipment in our Maubara clinic and ran his eye over the clinic’s big generator, as well as the solar panels at the orphanage –  the Sisters were so happy to have him there!

Mary mentoring Tino

Working in TL requires adaptability, and our teams are characterised by a fluidity of roles. Team 5 was no different. All the dentists shared all the tasks, from mentoring of Timorese clinicians to accompanying  Ana Paula to do a share of the examinations; Ana Tilman and Nico delivered oral health education either en masse or class-by-class; Kim, Nico, Ana Tilman, Mary, Tino and Leslie were at different times the work horses of the crew; and everyone functioned as steri-nurse and dental assistant.

Kim demonstrating with Leslie assisting

It was a very busy 2 weeks and so the last day spent in Maubara clinic, winding down and taking stock was much-needed. Kim did a vital skill demonstration for our mentees, a few patients were treated, there was a bit of tidying up and the team had important personnel and team meetings, but essentially the day was for closure, and farewelling the Sisters for the year. Later that night the extended team, including translators Bony and Isa, reconvened for a rowdy end-of-trip-end-of-year dinner in Dili. After being kicked out of a cafe at the end of the night, the team lingered in the carpark – it is always difficult to say ‘Goodbye’ to our Timorese family.

Team 5 examined a total of 836 patients, extracted 348 teeth, filled 368 teeth, did 383 preventive treatments and 2 root canal treatments. YAAY team! We will see you all next year!

 

 

 

Busy, no Catastrophes – notes from Team 4

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The fabulous Dr Steph Shields met Team 4 at an ungodly hour at Darwin Airport to deliver much-needed supplies. The first wave of the Australian volunteers consisted of team leader, Dr Peter Shakes, and team members, Dr Jeremy Lung, Dr Martin Ramlah and  Ms Malita McCabe.  They were joined for the whole trip by our Timorese team members – dental therapists, Mr Nico Pires and Ms Ana Tilman, Ms Ana Paula Salgado, our translator and admin extraordinaire and Mr Tino Morais, our long time mentee dental therapist, who is in charge of the Gleno Hospital dental clinic.

Team 4
Team 4. minus Hans

Clinic with a view

As usual, the first night consisted of  packing and tidying at our base clinic in Maubara, then dinner with  our partners, the Carmelite Sisters. Martin kept the Sisters entertained (and possibly scandalised) with  Australian sayings, some of which may have not been entirely appropriate for the Servants of God!

The next morning the Team was off for 2 weeks in Atsabe, a 6 hour drive from Maubara. The first 5 days were spent in what is arguably the most scenic dental clinic that the TLDP gets to work in – the verandah of the Priests’ Residence. It is also one of the windiest locations – the Timorese shiver when they talk about Atsabe. However, the view more than makes up for the sporadic electricity and the icy morning baths!

Happy Birthday Nico!

Over the first 5 days, the team took care of the children from the local government and parish schools, as well as members of the general community. This is our second trip to Atsabe and like most places in TL, is desperate for dental care- the community was lining up for treatment before the team had even had breakfast! The week was punctuated by Nico’s 27th Birthday (he had cake for breakfast) and the local market day, where Malita did her civic duty contributing to the local economy.

Tino and Martin

Martin and Jeremy graduated relatively recently – almost 2  years ago – and these young sparks approached the transfer of knowledge and skills with great enthusiasm. Both worked closely with Nico, Tino and Ana Tilman to produce some very pleasing results – a number of the fillings on the front teeth would be at home at any high standard Australian practices and are testimony to the mentoring of the TLDP teams. Good work, guys! Some of these fillings were needed because of a local recent fashion trend of filing or deliberately chipping the front teeth – something we sought to discourage.

Malita giving oral health education

Having a dental hygienist on this team proved to be an excellent advertising tactic. On the third day, Malita got going with her cleaning and from that time on attracted a following of handsome young boys with shiny white teeth and typically TL wide smiles. These young boys recruited friends and family to attend for the remainder of the team’s stay. Great work, Malita!

Day 6 was changeover day and a very tired team had a day of relative rest. Peter and Nico did the 8 hour round trip to Dili to swap dentists. The trip started off a little shakily but at least they got the wrong turn out of the way early in  journey! Jeremy was delivered to Dili and returning veteran, Dr Hans Raets, collected without problems.

Hans’ journey to TL had already been eventful. He had been flagged as a terrorist  in Darwin, attempting to load a bomb (our new autoclave) on the Darwin-Dili flight. Personally, we would choose a less conspicuous individual if we were recruiting for a terrorist organisation – Hans is over 6 ft tall and is very distinctive. Luckily for us, Hans was eventually let on the plane after partial disassembly of ‘the bomb’.

Jeremy and Peter on the tools

The team worked one last day on their verandah before shifting to a new location. The  village of Atara is only 10km by road, but it is a 1 hour drive as the ‘road’ closely resembles a goat track. The team arrived to find market day in full-swing, which necessitated a lot of shuffling of trucks and market stallholders before the team was installed in the open-air meeting area. Three pluses kept the team  happy over the next 3 days – the old chief and his wife kept them well-fed and caffeinated, there was the luxury of electricity so no need to use the generators, and they were allowed to store the equipment onsite, so no need to set up and break down the clinic everyday!

Hans is too tall for the chair

The community had never had a dental service here before, which showed up in the large amounts of advanced dental disease in the adults. The  children, however – screened at the local primary school  by Martin and Ana Paula – had pretty good teeth, which is generally the case in the remote areas of TL – no access to junk food! With the dentists forming mentoring teams with the therapists, Malita manning the assisting and the sterilisation, and Ana Paula whipping them all along, the team worked through the patients with no problems.

On the penultimate morning, the team took their leave of Atsabe and headed back to Maubara for admin and housekeeping; stopping briefly at Gleno Hospital to drop Tino off so he could start his afternoon clinic. Tino is a great asset to the TLDP and demonstrates enormous enthusiasm for high quality, gentle dentistry. We have been mentoring Tino for 7 years now- he works voluntarily with as many teams as possible every year, simply to improve his skills. Nico has been employed and mentored by the TLDP for 3 years. In that time, both their skills have improved out-of-sight. For clinicians with limited resources, they have become excellent diagnosticians and they do some beautiful work. We are humbled by their dedication to their work.

The fabulous Timorese

This trip was exceptional in that everything worked – the team even had a functioning suction unit, unlike last year! And nothing broke down! The team itself was a fabulous blend of ‘old-er’ and younger dentists, a veteran dental hygienist, plus the enthusiastic, uncomplaining and capable  Timorese. Together, they brought to fruition our shared mission to make a difference to the Timorese communities we serve.

This trip the team treated 710 patients, extracted 623 teeth, filled 162 fillings, did 69 preventive treatments and 43 cleans. Well done team 4!

The Power of Many

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Team 2 has returned home safe and sound. In the past couple of years, our teams seem to have become quite large as a general rule, as our Australian volunteers are matched in numbers by Timorese employees. This team consisted of Australian volunteers, Dr David Digges (Team Leader), Dr Henry Gilkes, Ms Liz Eberl, and the tag teamers – Dr Geoff Knight and newcomer, Dr William Hariman. The Timorese contingent consisted of Ana de Jesus Barreto Tilman (AT), Ana Paula Dos Santos Tavares Salgado (AT), Nicolau Tolentino Faria Pires (Nico), Isabel Noronha Pereira De Lima Maia (Isa), Bonifacio Cardoso Martins (Bony), and Diamantino Correia Morais (Tino). Hence, at any given moment, this team had 3 dentists, 2 or 3 dental therapists, a dental assistant/steri nurse and 2 translators/dental assistants/admin officers. A massive team!

DD, HG, Isa, AP, AT, LE, Nico, GK

The team spent the first few days hosted by the Sisters in Bobonaro. The girls got to stay with the Sisters themselves, but the boys were housed in the Sisters’Tuberculosis clinic  – we suspect that they will be looking for some new digs next year! The team spent the first 2 days operating in the meeting room of Gumer Primary School, with the nearby High School kids walking over. Gumer is an isolated valley between Bobonaro and Maliana and  there are 800 children in these 2 schools, many of whom have very poor oral health. The team soon realised that on Day 1, but were able to broaden their scope on Day 2. 

The fabulous GK in action with the equally fabulous Isa

For the remainder of the week, the team shifted accommodation to Maliana –  this is the Big Smoke in this area, and the team gets to enjoy a little luxury. Isa’s Mom runs Restaurant Maliana, so the team is well-fed when they live here. Day 3 and 4 saw the team working out of a very impoverished village called Memo, 30 minutes west of Maliana and within spitting distance of the Indonesian border. They found it a little unerving to be able to see an Indonesian Military checkpoint from the school where they set up. The villagers here had never seen a dentist.

Tino and the omnipresent Ana Tilman!

Day 5 was changeover day – the team started working out of Maliana Hospital. Bony and Tino arrived together on what would have been a very long, dusty and bumpy tandem ride from Dili. Bony still managed to look immaculate coming off that bike – some people just have that knack! Geoff headed back to Dili – any team lucky enough to have Geoff with them benefits from his wealth of knowledge, especially with Silver Fluoride, which we use extensively in our work over in TL. William had been picked up from the airport by one of Isa’s friends and was put straight on the tools when he arrived in Maliana – no problem for William!

The team spent the next 2 days treating the community as well as students from the High School. This team is impressive with its logistics. They split into two teams, with screening and transportation of the students carried out by Bony, Willian, Tino and Liz, and treatment carried out in the hospital by Nico, Henry and David. Translation, sterilisation and patient marshalling were efficiently handled by AP, Isa and AT. After working late, the team had sunset drinks on the rooftop terrace – a last hurrah with Isa, who is now employed by Maluk Timor as the Oral Health Coordinator for all the dental charities that come to TL – we wish her well, but are very sad that she will no longer be spending so much time with us!

Week 2 was spent closer to our home base, Maubara. Three days were spent visiting Loes Orphanage, which we have never been before, Loes School (one of our regular schools) and Tapamanolu School (last seen in 2012 – very hard to get to). This involved a commute of 40 min along the crumbling coast road. The last 2 days were spent in Ediri School, one of the schools in our program.

The team with HG, WH and DD on the tools

What a hectic schedule!!! The team did a fabulous job – there was heaps of mentoring for Nico, Tino, Ana Tilman and Ana Paula, a whole stack of work got done, and they all had a great time! Henry did a super job of keeping us updated on social media. What more could we ask for?

Back in Maubara with Sister

The TLDP is exceedingly lucky to have so many dedicated volunteers who continue to come back year after year. We are even luckier that we are supported in our work by dental companies such as Henry Schein and SDI. And we are the luckiest to have so many enthusiastic, hardworking, talented  Timorese people working with us. We are immensely grateful in particular, to our primary partners, The Carmelite Sisters, who smooth our way through the bureaucracy of TL. Our program has carried on unabated despite constant changes in the Ministry of Health over the past few years.

The home team watched over by Henry

Nico and AT have become an excellent home team. They are in charge of the Maubara Clinic and our school dental program – Nico is an excellent operator and has the confidence of the Sisters – that is a HUGE endorsement! Although we initially employed Ana Tilman as a dental assistant, she too is trained as a dental therapist and so is now also benefitting from mentoring within the team environment. Her skills are on the up!

We are especially lucky to have an unofficial Timorese Committee of bright, young people – AP, AT, Nico, Tino, Bony and Isa – they are expert problem-solvers and can-do people. They are unstoppable!

Henry trials the new hand washing unit

Team 2 itself was pretty lucky – there were minimal repair issues, although they did get a flat tyre on the way home from Maliana – changing tyres in the dust and heat could not have been fun. They also were the first to try out our brand new custom-made portable hand washing unit – for all those places with no running water (it was a hit! Conceived in the Sunshine Coast, Made in Grafton), and they were the first team to wear our new spic uniforms!! 

Overall, the team examined 1350 people, they extracted 467 teeth, placed 770 fillings, and carried out 722 preventive treatments. Well done Team!

Farewell Team 4

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Team 4 will farewell Australian shores next Saturday. Team Leader, Dr Peter Shakes will be joined by Dr Ashley Freeman and Dr Andrew Frame in the first week, who will then be replaced by the redoubtable Dr Mary Tuituinnik in Week 2.  The Timorese team members include Nico Pires, TLDP’s hard-working dental therapist and new Dad, and  Ana Paula Dos Santos Tavares Salgado, the team’s translator and dental assistant. Team 4 has already been plagued by misdirected supplies, team members dropping out, and confusion with scheduling;. Hopefully, all the wrinkles have been ironed out now and this team will have some smooth sailing once they get to TL. They are heading to Atsabe and Maubara. Good luck and have fun Team!

THANK YOU!

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At this point in time we would like to thank all our generous donors of cold hard cash. Maintaining a dental program is not a cheap operation. While we try and make our funds stretch as far as possible by utilising volunteers – who all pay their own way – as the muscle of the program, and by obtaining generous donations of dental materials, we aim to reduce the welfare component of our program in order to make the program more sustainable.

That is why we employ a number of local Timorese people. We employ a full-time Timorese dental therapist, Nicolau Pires, who runs the program while the teams are not in Timor Leste. We employ Bonifacio Cardoso on a casual basis, to handle our registrations and liaise with some of the outlying communities; and when the teams are in-country, we also employ a slew of dental assistants, translators and sometimes, drivers.  Now, we are funding a Timorese sister, Sr Delfina, to attend university in Indonesia so that she can become a dentist. It’s a 5 year course and a massive financial commitment for the TLDP. She starts in September this year and the cost of the first year’s tuition is USD 29 000. It’s a lot of money! It is our hope that once she graduates and gets a bit of experience, she will then become the backbone of our program.

So apart from helping us to purchase and maintain our dental gear in our clinics, and to maintain our car and the Sisters’ car which the teams borrow, and helping to support   three other Timorese government clinics, your precious donations are helping us to provide employment, training and experience for young Timorese people. Thank you for investing in their futures.

Thank you, in particular, to the International College of Dentists, which has pledged $4000 annually for Sr Delfina’s education. Thank you to the Rotary Club of Bendigo who recently gave us $2000 to buy local anaesthetic for all the clinicians we support, as well as some instruments that were on Dr Inda’s Wishlist. Thank you to the Melbourne Dental Wellbeing clinic, who threw a film night and donated $1405 to the program, just for the hell of it. Thank you to everyone who has given us even a small donation – every little bit counts!

As I write this, our next team is preparing to head off to TL this weekend. Team 2 consists of  Dr John Moran, Dr John Whyte and Emma Whyte , as well as Nico Pires and Ana Paula do Santos Tavares Salgado. They will be living it up in Railaco! Good luck team!

Together we are an Ocean

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Team 1 arrived home a week ago, tired – and some of us sick – but triumphant. This trip was difficult to organise and challenging on the ground due to the conglomeration of different organisations during the first week- The Timor Leste Dental Program had been joined by Solar Smiles Dental Charity (SSDC), the Bendigo Maubisse Friendship Committee (BMFC), and the Maubisse Referral Hospital (MRH). We all had  different ideas and agendas for this first week, but we shared a common goal – to improve the dental health of Maubisse Subdistrict; this made us a highly effective team.

Week one saw us in Maubisse Subdistrict. The TLDP consisted of overall team leader, Dr Blanche Tsetong, the TLDP’s Timorese dental therapist, Mr Nico Tolentino Faria,  and translator (as well as sterilisation nurse and dental assistant), Miss Isabel Noronha Pereira de Lima Maia. SSDC was represented by founder, dental recruiter and former dental assistant, Mrs Kim Groizard. Standing with a foot in both camps was Dr Phil Hill, who was volunteering for the TLDP, but was also a member of the SSDC. Dr George Waters represented the BMFC and the MRH brought into the mix Dr Inda Zulmira Dias, dental therapists, Mr Armando Da Costa Martins and Mr Ricardo Mendonça, and assistants, Carlotta and Imelda.

The TLDP and MRC spent the first couple of days in Turiscai treating the community and the school. Turiscai is and isolated village 1 1/2 hours from Maubisse town along the type rough, dirt ridge track that TL is famous for. The scenery is spectacular. We were very busy – the community rarely gets dental services – but our plans for a community oral health workshop were stymied by the campaigning for the upcoming election. (Pic: Phil, Nico & Ota)

The next 3 days the TLDP and MRC visited Rimori School, in a village fringed by sharp mountains, Samoro School, in a valley accessed by a skinny dirt track running beneath towering Madre de Cacao trees and coffee bushes, and the Carmelite Sisters’ Health Clinic back in Maubisse town. Kim Groizard lent a hand at both Rimori and Samoro Schools , enabling her to see a functional outreach clinic in TL in action. As we all know, working in TL has its unique challenges and peculiarities! (Pic: Phil, Isa & Kim)

Week 1 was peppered with meetings, but the most crucial was that with the Chiefs of all the Sucos (akin to shires) in the Maubisse Subdistrict. Phil, Nico and the rest of the gang remained slogging at Samoro, while Blanche, Kim and Inda attended this meeting with George in tow (SSDC will function under the BMFC umbrella). At what Kim described as a “horse auction”, the chiefs sought to get more services for their Sucos. In the end, we came out with a working plan of cooperation between the Chiefs, the Carmelite Sisters, the MRH, the TLDP and the SSDC. Success! (Pic: The view from Rimori)

The weekend, as always, brought the changeover and we said goodbye to the cool hills of Maubisse, the Maubisse crew, and to Kim and George. We were now a solely TLDP team. Blanche, Phil, Nico and Isabel happily welcomed Dr Mary Tuituinnik; less welcome was  the oppressive heat and humidity of the coast .

Week 2 had a different flavour to it – the climate introduces an additional layer of difficulty to our job. Also, by that time, both Nico and Blanche were ill; nevertheless, the team carried on – they spent 2 days in the slightly cooler climes of Vatuvou School, in the foothills behind Maubara, and a day in each of the airless, dusty, piping hot schools of Ediri and Vatunau, with one fan, a tin roof and a generator. What made the week flow easily was Phil’s can-do, ever-optimistic attitude, Mary’s gentle humour, Isa’s graceful, caring nature, Nico’s dogged work ethic, and the non-stop gentle pitter patter of Phil and Mary’s chatter – those two can talk underwater!

One of the days we spent assessing and mentoring a dental therapist, Savio, who the SSDC hopes to employ. Like most of the dental therapists we come across in TL, his skills are woefully lacking; however, with the right attitude towards learning, and with lots of support, we know that he could become an excellent clinician. Many of the dental therapists we mentor are now excellent clinicians. (Pic: Savio, Isa & Mary)

Week 2 also had its share of meetings as the TLDP worked with Phil (with his SSDC hat on) to establish more connections in TL. There were many trips back and forth on the Dili Road – meetings with Judite and Mario from the Rotary Liaison in Dili, the Rotary Club Lafaek in Dili, and the Rotary Club Dili at the Klibur Domin Tuberculosis Clinic in Tibar, with a fortuitous meeting with another new dental NGO in Tibar, which works within Kilbur Domin, under the Ryder-Cheshire banner. Developing links is important, especially in this setting, as it allows us to support each other and to share resources – TL is an impossible place to work in solo.

Blanche had meetings with Sr Inacia about the Sister Delfina who the TLDP hopes to support in her dental studies in Indonesia. The TLDP believes that local ownership is the only way for a program to be sustainable. Although Nico is hardworking and committed, he is a “mere” dental therapist and so lacks the clout that being a dentist would give him. He also has family ties that may force him to leave the program one day. Hence – in supporting Sister Delfina to become a dentist we hope to safeguard the program for the future. However, the TLDP was originally led to believe that the degree would cost approx USD 9000 for the first year of study. Instead, it is closer to USD 29000 – a big difference! Nevertheless, we are determined to support her – I see some fundraising in our future!

Team 1 luckily had few equipment issues –  3  broken triplexes, a non-functioning generator, malfunctioning head torches, a dental unit water leak, a total loss of water supply in the accommodation in Maubisse and, at the end, a broken air-conditioning fan belt in the SIsters’ car. Most they managed to fix during the 2 weeks! (Pic: Isabel, Blanche & an iPhone)

Team 1 saw a total of  415 patients, extracted 363 teeth, restored 245  teeth and carried out   39 treatments. With the TLDPs support, the MHR and Nico had screened, given oral health education and carried out a selected treatment to 1439 children prior to the Team’s arrival.  A fine example of what cooperation can accomplish!

Thank you to the entire team – you make this program. Thank you to Bony Cardoso Martins, who continues to help us with our Timorese dental registration, which is an exercise in tedium. Thank you especially to Henry Schein Halas, who continues to support our program with stacks of consumables and equipment team after team, year after year. Your generous donations allow us to give more to the Timorese people. Thank you also to SDI who has also helped us with donated materials over several years. Thank you to our partners, the Carmelite Sisters who, with their grace and good company, make it a joy to work in TL.  (Pic: Phil, Sr Joaninha, Blanche, Sr Isabel, Mary)

And so it begins…gearing up for 2018

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It seems like we’ve just stopped to draw breath from the helter-skelter of 2017, yet here we are – 6% of 2018 already done. So the TLDP year begins with an admin and planning trip. This is especially needed this year, as we lost our beautiful Timorese coordinator, Sr Filomena, to the Oe-cusse Carmelite Community at the end of 2017. Armed with calendars, forms, and loads of blank paper, Dr Blanche Tsetong is set to head to TL for 3 intense days of meetings and brainstorming. Of course, she’ll be taking some much needed supplies – we can’t let that valuable luggage-space go to waste!

Blanche will be meeting with Sr Inacia, one of the heads of the Carmelite order in TL and, at the same time, she hopes to meet the young Sr Anna, whose dental studies we hope to support in Indonesia. Whilst in Dili, she will also be meeting with the Ministry of Health to discuss the ongoing saga of dental registration. Then a big planning session is in the works with Bony, Nico and Sr Joaninha in Maubara. With Sr Filomena gone, the coordinator role will be shifted onto Nico, the dental therapist, who will be aided by the redoubtable Bony. As the only dental clinician within several districts, Nico has a big job ahead of him.

The Ermera and Maubisse contingent will be met back in Dili – Blanche is looking forward to a big gathering of some of our long-standing, dedicated Timorese clinicians – Tino from Gleno, Dr Inda from Maubisse, Ana Paula from Balibo, and Ana Tilman from the Kose Nehan Program in Aileu. These people are a joy to be with. There is much work to do, especially now that the TLDP bas been joined by two NGOs, the Bendigo-Maubisse Friendship Association and Solar Smiles. We all want to help, but it takes effort not to get in each other’s way. We will be looking to our Timorese friends for guidance!!!

And fingers crossed – at the end…..we’ll have a plan for 2018!!!! Wish us luck!

THANKYOU AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!

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It seems that the years fly by faster and faster as we get older. Here we are again at the end of the year, with the silly season looming. At this time, I reflect upon everything that has happened during the year – good and bad – all our achievements, all our losses, and how we have handled it all.

This year has been tumultuous for the Timor Leste Dental Program; we hired a new dental therapist, Nico Pires, at the beginning of the year, in a bid to increase the local ownership for the program. He has proved to be a true asset – a hardworking and competent clinician, who is unafraid to take charge even in the presence of some extremely authoritative (bossy) Aussie dentists. We simultaneously entered into a partnership with the Maubisse-Bendigo Friendship Association, which has increased the support for the Maubisse District, but has also had the effect of increasing (temporarily, we hope!) our workload, as we bring these newcomers up to speed. Maubisse Hospital acquired a new dentist – Dr Inda Zulmira Días –  who has already shown her skill in organising the Maubisse sectors for Teams 1 and 5, as well as an ability to connect with the community though our dental workshops. Everyone who got to work with her this year fell in love with her charm and enthusiasm.

Overshadowing everything was a great deal of frustration dealing with the moving goal posts of the new Timorese dental registration process – delays, lengthy meetings with government officials, multiple trips to Dili, mountains of paperwork, and emails, and submission and resubmission of documents…this is still ongoing. All the teams felt the absence of our translator, and friend, Bony, who was in his final year at university. Although he couldn’t work with the teams, he still set aside time to help the TLDP with the registration, as well as sorting out many other details for our teams. Thank you Bony!

The TLDP sent over 5 teams this year. We had a host of new volunteers – Dr Mary Tuituinnik, Dr Marius Mocke, Mrs Yvette Young, Ms Abbey Notley, Ms Liz Thompson, Dr Mengzhu Wang, Ms Malita McCabe, Dr Andrew Frame, Dr Phil Hill and Dr Christine Underhill. It was wonderful to see the way these new volunteers took the Timorese people into their hearts. We also saw the return of our regulars – Dr John Moran, Dr David Digges, Dr Wayne Pearson, Dr Karen Sloan, Dr Geoff Knight, Dr David Sheen, Dr Blanche Tsetong, Ms Bella Miller, Dr John Whyte, Dr Ashley Freeman and Dr Peter Shakes. The people who return, year after year, is what keeps this program running. They are gold.

Sadly, two of our team leaders, Wayne Pearson and David Sheen, claimed that this was their so-called ‘last’ trip to Timor; however, it is hard to resist Timor’s siren song – we think that Timor hasn’t seen the back of them yet! However, by far the biggest blow to the program this year, was the loss of Sr Filomena da Costa – our Timorese Program Coordinator. The Carmelite exec ruled that she had to move to Oecusse to head the community over there; as a relatively young community, they need someone with her 26 years of experience. In one fall swoop we have lost our boss, the best chef in Timor, our spiritual advisor, local folklorist and a quirky, mischievous friend. No prizes for guessing that everyone will be vying for the Oecusse spot from now on! Nico and Sr Joaninha have big shoes to fill.

This year the TLDP treated over 2330 people; we extracted over 1851 teeth, placed over 937 fillings, and carried out 411 preventive treatments. This treatment is worth about $977,650. We facilitated one dental workshop and mentored 6 Timorese dental clinicians over a period of 10 weeks.

We would like to wholeheartedly thank all our fabulous volunteers, who never stint on giving their time and effort to the Timorese people. We would also like to thank their families and friends who support them – they would not be able to do what they do without you. Thank you to all our Timorese workers, partners and helpers. There are always a multitude of local people, often unsung and unseen, who help keep the program running while we are over there – they are teachers, drivers, groundsmen, elders, nurses, passersby – they give because they can, and we are awed by them.  A massive thank you to Henry Schein Halas and SDI for their extremely generous donations to our program this year – we would not be able to function without your donations of vital dental materials and equipment. Last, but not least, thank you to our donors – 97% of your valuable contributions go directly towards helping the Timorese people. We are more than grateful for your support. Your contributions pay for equipment and vehicle maintenance, for material and equipment purchases and for the salaries of Nico and other Timorese translators and fixers. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

From all of us at the Timor Leste Dental Program, we wish all our volunteers, our supporters, our donors, our partners and their families, a happy Christmas. We wish you all the best for the new year. Keep safe and well and we will see you in 2018.

GO TEAM 3!

This Monday marks the arrival of our third team in TL this year. The team comprises team leader, Dr Wayne Pearson, boomerang volunteers – Dr Karen Sloan and the hardcore supernurse, Mrs Sally Stephens; as well as new blood, Dr Marius Mocke and Ms Abbey Notley; the eastern states of Australia are well-represented here – Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland! Along with Nico, it’s a BIG team! They will be spending their outreach week in the offshore island of Atauro – and braving the big boat – the ‘Nakroma’ – which we have previously used to get to/from Oecusse. The team will be taking 2 vehicles over to Atauro, and the Nakroma is the only boat big enough to carry them. We are a little apprehensive – the last time we put a car onto THAT boat, it nearly fell into the sea! Have fun Team 3! Hope you have red skies at night…..